New Haven Independent

Posted by: John Tulin | August 26, 2008 10:39 AM

Nice work by the BOE and the TOC - teachers and students can't get it done without the support of downtown and parents! Communication is key.

Couple points.....

Can the TOC come up with a solution to correct the behavior of their students and avoid suspensions in the first place. Students that are disruptive enough to get suspended (which usually means violence for high school) are already bogging down enough school resources and hijacking others' learning.

The missing homework packet (which most suspended kids will never complete) is not the problem; the student's attitude and lack of respect is!

Secondly, parents should not be allowed to visit their child's classroom "whenever they feel the need to", as TOC wants. No work-place would allow uninvited guests to waltz into it as they saw fit. In no way would that help the learning process; it would annoy the teacher and embarrass the student. Kids first, remember.

If you feel that you need to talk to your teachers, schedule an appointment (like everyone else, in all work-places). If teachers know they need to talk to you, they will do the same. I assure you they will never just walk into your job or home....promise.

Posted by: teachergal | August 26, 2008 11:16 AM

We are speaking about kids who are carrying guns and using them. A homework packet, you've got to be kidding, social services and emotional support is what they need. Most of these suspended kids don't do their work in school which is why they end up getting suspended because they are into other pursuits. I don't think i ever remember a time that i received the homework packet back, incomplete or completed when a student of mine was suspended.

Regarding parents visiting classrooms at their leisure. I agree with John, this is inappropriate. Parents should come in yes, but it should be scheduled, just like an appointment with a dentist, doctor, or lawyer. I think all teachers feel that parents should be involved and allowed in classrooms but it should be planned in advance. Parents should also be coming in to support the students not to evaluate the teacher. We have administrators for that. If a parent has a problem with a teacher they should make an appointment, speak with them, and if that does not work, contact the principal.

Last year I had a mother and uncle show up drunk to speak to me as their child had called them from the bathroom on a cell phone and they thought he was in trouble. He was in there without permission and he was certainly not in any danger.

Regarding the suspension policy: I've been hearing about this since last year. So what is it?How can I download it or is it a secret? And who is going to police it? In-school suspension is a great idea but if you don't have the proper personnel to enforce it then it will not work. I work in a building with 3 administrators, how about one of them being the enforcer of the ISS room....LOL! Seriously, if we really want our schools to function we need to deal with the trouble makers in the classroom. And i don't want to hear that the kids are bored....it's school, it's work, and it's hard....that's the problem. Many kids don't want to work, they just want to play and that is the problem plain and simple.

JMHO

Posted by: Alphonse Credenza | August 26, 2008 2:54 PM

They want it in writing?

Are they sure Bd of Ed people or the teachers in our school systems all know how to write?

Seriously -- you'd be surprised...

Posted by: TOC | August 26, 2008 4:11 PM

Responding to John Tulin -

On school visits - Many teachers welcome uninvited visits where parents silently observe in the back of the room because this helps create an open environment and shows the parent that the teacher has nothing to hide. Different from someone's home or a more traditional place of work, schools are places that should be open and foster connections between students, teachers, and parents, which means that schools need to allow parents to stop in unannounced and observe quietly for themselves what is going on in the classroom. Fortunately, the members of the Board of Education acknowledged this once we gave our input and changed the policy language accordingly when they updated their policy manual in September 2007.

On suspensions - According to a recent report by Connecticut Voices for Children (http://www.ctkidslink.org/pub_detail_423.html), in the 2006-2007 school year, "Nearly two-thirds of suspensions were for relatively minor offenses, such as skipping school and showing disrespect," rather than for violent or serious offenses.

On suspended children getting homework - Parents want their children to complete their homework and not to see suspension as a vacation. To quote West Haven High School Principal Ronald Stancil, in an August 26, 2007 New Haven Register article, "Kids don't necessarily mind being suspended (at home) so much. It's kind of like a reward for them." In addition to enforcing punishment and consequences for children at home while suspended, parents want their children to stay on top of their schoolwork. A parent who is working to correct their child's attitude or lack of respect and keep their child on the right track needs immediate access to that child's homework. If I am struggling with their child, the last thing I need is to be struggling with the school just to get my child's homework.

On student behavior - TOC is coming up with solutions to correct student behavior and avoid suspensions by working to improve the communication and implementation of behavioral and academic assessments (including PPTs) and to improve policies and procedures that address and prevent bullying. Unfortunately, even after meeting monthly with the Superintendent since April, we have yet to receive any written confirmation that the changes we've discussed will be implemented this school year. We don't want more meetings - We want results.

Teach Our Children - (203) 786-5499 - teachourchildren@hotmail.com

Posted by: TOC | August 26, 2008 4:58 PM

Correction to this line in last post: If I am struggling with *my* child, the last thing I need is to be struggling with the school just to get my child's homework.

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | August 26, 2008 5:32 PM

If this report is accurate, Ms. Shannon sounds like a perfect leader/spokeswoman for TOC. Her quotes seem to suggest that she is someone who uses a measured but persistent tone in getting things done. To help further, TOC should attempt to establish a timeline for what it and the Supt. have agreed upon. Let's give Mayo the benefit of the doubt that this is a complex task which requires thought and deliberation. But deadlines are helpful in focusing the mind!

Mr. Tulin and TeacherGal: Actually there are plenty of work places that allow parents/relatives to visit when they see fit. One place is the hospital. If your child was in the hospital, would you accept some administrator telling you that you have to make an appointment several days ahead of time if you wanted to visit him? I don't think so.

To carry the analogy further, what if your child was admitted to the hospital for diabetes, and the attending physician said to you "Your obese kid is taking up my time and a valuable bed which could be used for someone else." What would your reaction be to that?

Point being, is that our society puts a high value on life and health. We don't make value judgements or differentiate when it comes to treating people for medical emergencies. An obese person who has had a terrible diet and is in a diabetic shock is given the same level of attention as is a brave fireman who is suffering cardiac arrest from smoke inhalation. You both want to be compared to doctors? Then stop blaming the patients for what ails them.

In our community today, teachers need to meet the children where they are and not where the teachers want them to be. The sad fact is that you (I assume you both teach in New Haven)find yourself in an emergency room environment. Why is a New Haven classroom the equivalent of an "emergency room"? Because you have children in your classroom who, if not given intensive educational care now will not make it in school, in employment, and in life, and most likely will end up suffering from an early demise. The medical analogy actually turns into reality.

Mr. Tulin and TeacherGAL, this may be not what you signed up for when you decided to become teachers in an urban impoverished district. But the fact is that we are facing a public emergency which requires the services of skilled, committed, trained professionals who understand the urgency of the situation. You are both in the heat of the battle and we need you (teachers in general) to step up and accept responsibility, not to blame and exclude parents many of whom themselves have less than a high school education. And by the way, the professional that I am describing should be rewarded financially and commensurate with the immense value that they bring to the job.

If you feel differently, please do us all a favor and head out to the burbs. We don't have the same kinds of problems out there. Non-emergent care, by appointment-only, cosmetic surgeries, nice waiting rooms. But by staying in our urban emergency room districts, you are bogging down school resources and hijacking others' learning.

I do agree with you on one thing, Mr. Tulin. Kids first, remember?

Posted by: John Tulin | August 26, 2008 6:56 PM

Fix - Your hospital analogy is a poor one. It could be more appropriate if you described a parent entering a room during the delicate procedure of another person's child - but still a crummy analogy. Diabetic shock is an emergency situation - daily teaching is not, although the big picture of education certainly is. Like one's overall and long term health monitored and fostered by routine physicals. And during those, Mom waited outside. Better analogy. Enough with literary devices.....

A major part of the fine art of teaching is establishing the perfect classroom environment. Allowing guests in and out - whether they are hallway roamers barging in, administrators popping in, or genuinely concerned parents - disrupts the flow. And although "many" teachers may welcome the visit, 9 out of 10 would not. High school teachers have student load of well over 100 students, the idea that any and all of their parents should be able to enter as they feel is absurd - and will never happen.

I have been a teacher in an urban district for almost 10 years now - it is exactly what I signed up for (which is why I stay). No one, not me, the BOE or the union, wants to exclude parents. No one said that either, but you suggest we do. Crummy as your analogies. We just want an appointment set to discuss and collaborate - not too much to ask.

Also, most teachers are happy that groups like TOC exist. At parent's night - 85% of non-honors student's parents don't show up. It is good to see such activism where it is needed most.

Fix - Teacher?

Posted by: Hood Rebel | August 26, 2008 8:36 PM

Allan,

What does the data say about why most students are suspended in New Haven Public School

Posted by: teachergal | August 27, 2008 10:14 AM

Fix: It always comes down to teacher bashing doesn't it. Teachers are the problem not the student/parents/or the community we chose to work in.

A school is not a hospital, it is not an emergency room, it is an institution of learning. Many years ago, I chose to teach disadvantaged students in New Haven and have happily done so for many years with much success. I knew what i was signing up for and relished the challenged. I am not burnt out and haggard from the experience. I am involved and active in committees and extra curricular for NHPS students. I resent your comments that we should go to the burbs because we don't want parents popping in and out of our classrooms whenever. This is absolutely absurd!

As an outsider one cannot possibly understand the demands of the teaching profession, urban and suburban. Having parents pop in and out at their leisure is not conducive to the daily flow of a school day. Additionally, generally parents never want to just sneak in quietly and observe or help out, they want to talk about their child and how they are doing. Should my experience in this area been different, I might feel differently about it.

Again, no one is saying that parents should not come by and visit, just give a call and check what would be the best time to make that visit. What is wrong with that?

Also, would love to see what our district's new suspension policy is. I won't even say what I've witnessed in many schools as I'm sure that i'll get bashed for it. Students and teachers do need support if we are going to feel safe and supported throughout our school day.

PS...Fix, what do you do? Maybe you might want to volunteer in a school in your spare time since you feel so passionately about what is wrong!

Posted by: Alphonse Credenza | August 27, 2008 11:24 AM

Teacher bashing?

Working 10 months of the year, generally 8 to 5, hardly under pressure of losing one's job, and with poor results -- ever decreasing test scores.

Simply a government functionary in an education factory that turns out middling product.

Public school teachers assign little homework and don't push children to accomplish more than they ever expected they could.

There are exceptions -- perhaps you. But then there are always exceptions to every rule.

And then there are the parents...

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | August 27, 2008 11:47 AM

TeacherGal and Tulin:

I just spent the morning in a public school where parents are INVITED and ENCOURAGED to come into any classroom, any time. Of course there are expectations around visits. A visit doesn't mean a parent can waltz in and disrupt the class to hold a one-on-one conference with a teacher. It means that the parent gets to unobtrusively and quietly observe the classroom. The parent is expected not to distract their child with direct communication. Just watch. Many teachers who work in these "observable" environments view parents in the classrooms as a support mechanism and as a sign to all the students that adults care about what goes on there.

While we are on the topic of transforming urban public education to meet the needs of students and our society, here's part of an editorial in yesterday's NY Post:

---------------------------------------
"Fact is, America's gone light years beyond its shameful racial past. And the sight of a black mom speaking to the nation three days before her husband becomes the Democratic presidential nominee is irrefutable proof of that.

Some Dems don't get it, of course.

"Access to an excellent education is a basic civil right," American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said last night - never mind that the union she heads consistently and energetically works to block progress and equality for kids.

Do you doubt it? Then consider what African-American Mayors Cory Booker of Newark and Adrian Fenty of Washington, DC, said in Denver Sunday.

"Ten years ago," said Booker, "I was literally brought into a broom closet by a union and told I would never win office if I kept talking about charters."

He meant charter schools, of course - anathema to the teachers' unions.

Fenty assailed union opposition to a contract that boosts teacher pay in exchange for an end to tenure.

Booker and Fenty must practice what Weingarten - and now Michelle Obama - preach.

No doubt a careful parsing of Mrs. Obama's speech would yield further contradictions - but, for the moment, it stands as a moving moment that should be of real benefit to her husband."
--------------------------------------
Would love your thoughts as to the view that teachers through their unions, are at odds with the best interests of children.

In my opinion, teachers are both the SOLUTION and the PROBLEM. If you ask Mark Mcquillan, Commissioner of education in CT. what is the absolute most important factor in delivering a great education, he wouldn't say class size, or computers, or parental involvement, or even more money. He won't hesitate to say "teacher quality". So maybe one thing that we agree upon is that you both are critical to getting this thing right.

On the other hand, you become THE biggest problem if you fail to understand your responsibility. You have one of the toughest and most important jobs in America right now. You (as a profession) need to step up to the plate and do whatever it takes even if some of the parents aren't with you.

Posted by: Hood Rebel | August 27, 2008 12:35 PM

No single-stroke solution is going for work for the children of my community.

The drop out and retention rate of public schools including New Haven's Charters as reported here in New Haven register is deplorable.

http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=19885613&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=624602&rfi=8

The children of my community need a commitment to high expectations which should be evidenced in each classroom every time.

But teaching kids to pass a test to get desirable newspaper headlines is an outrageous insult to folks in the 'hood.

New Haven better do a hell of a lot better in student achievement.

But we in the hood want to see improvement in multiple measures, including continuous improvement in math and science, attendance, truancy, involvement in community, success after graduation and reduction in crime.

But, do not insult our intelligence -- and anyone else with good common sense who understands the complexities of inner city families --- with the notion that Charter school funding is the best answer.

Children in my neighborhood -- just like children in Madison, Guilford, Woodbridge, Avon, Wilton and Westville --- need great teachers and dedicated parents. Period.

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | August 27, 2008 2:08 PM

Hood Rebel,

Agreed. No single stroke is going to work including all charter schools all the time. One size does not fit all. That's why parents need choices, high quality choices. Just like they are doing in Hartford...charter schools, high performing neighborhood schools, IB schools, Montessori schools, even some magnets. The only requirement that ALL of those schools have to have is to educate children to a high level.

Check out this site. Love to know your thoughts on it.

http://www.baeo.org/

But...its interesting to read your negative interpretation of the NH Register article. I interpret those results to mean that Amistad has a long way to go before it can claim the kind of success that it wants to, which is to close the achievement gap and send the vast majority of its graduates to competitive colleges. But the fact that they have a high retention rate also suggests that they don't do social promotion. Seems to me that the first thing you have to know is just how far behind you are...then you can work on moving ahead.

You also seem to think that charter schools teach to the test to grab headlines. Could it be that they also want headlines to actually prepare kids for college? And aren't SATs and final exams an indication of skill mastery, and also central to a student's ability to get into a good college?

We agree on the need for great teachers. There are actually some promising developments in education law in CT. which might make it easier for great teachers to be certified to teach in urban districts. But exactly how would you propose to go about creating more dedicated parents?

Posted by: Hood Rebel | August 27, 2008 3:36 PM

Response to Fix---

Best wishes to Amistad and its mission to send all their graduates to a competitive college.

But those of us who live in the 'hood understand the reality that we must have broader thinking around what defines success for our children.

We in the hood know that all of our children deserve the best educational opportunities that will provide them with excellent choices in life.

And we are also painfully aware that not all of our children are best suited for college.

We know that some of our children need nurturing to be successful in other post graduate opportunities that would not stifle their talents and skills.

We in the hood also know that engaging disconnected inner-city parents is a complex challenge that must be undertaken.

Not just by harnessing and playing to their fears and frustrations; but by actively working with parents in ways that help them to see that in spite of their real or perceived limitations they could and should indeed be supportive and dedicated to ensuring the successful education of their children.

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | August 27, 2008 5:41 PM

Hood Rebel,

Good thoughts about the complexity about communicating with parents. Especially your last point. Improving education is not a zero-sum game. It isn't: "Either we fix the schools or we fix the parents." It is both.

I think though, that the challenge of asking poor parents, many who themselves lack a solid formal education, to become educational role models and exemplary involved parents is unrealistic as a primary strategy to close the gap.

So as tough as it will be, I still think it is more realistic to transform our education system into one which is dedicated to every child's success. But really, isn't this a false argument? Because in order to change the education system, parents must be engaged politically on the issue so that they can demand change from their leaders.

But on another issue, you mentioned "broader thinking" about what defines success. What exactly does that mean? I hope it doesn't mean that you find it acceptable that over 50% of people in the 'hood live in poverty.

And other than a college education, what other pathways are you aware of which promises to deliver "success" for the masses?

You say "not all of our children are best suited for college". Ok. And not everyone in Branford is suited for college either. But about 75% are. I am certain that you are not implying that children who grow up in the 'hood don't start out with the same potential as Branford kids to go to college, are you? For sure kids in the 'hood don't have the same support systems currently as do the kids in wealthier places, but isn't that the whole point? We can't accept that. It has to change. If it's possible to do, and it is, then we have no other choice but to fix it.

So again, what would you say explains the 40-50% difference in college enrollment between the 'hood and a town like Branford or Woodbridge? In my mind, there are plenty of reasons for the gap but none of them have to do with the innate potential of children. And if that's true, then what are we waiting for?

Posted by: Hood Rebel | August 27, 2008 9:43 PM

Fix--
Those of us in the hood who are serious about improving our community don't have the elitist luxury of being a judge.

We are so well aware of the data you project.
Remember we live here.

But we would rather use the data to drive us to do better rather than to divide and denigrate.

Those of us who are serious about improvement in the hood know that we must be partners, counselors, neighbors working as a team for improvement. We look for ways to help and to develop better understanding.

We rather deal with our community from a position of respect. We know that we must make a make difference on both the visible data that you so snobbishly retort here as well as the issues that are unknown and unknowable to folks like you.

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | August 27, 2008 11:46 PM

Divide and denigrate who?

Posted by: teachergal | August 28, 2008 11:33 AM

Teachers do have high expectations for their students. I'm sure there are a few that don't but unfortunately we can find these slackers in any profession and it is up to administration to weed them out.

As a reading teacher, i know the struggles and frustrations are students are faced with daily. Many students get to 7th and 8th grade reading at a second grade level. How does this happen and how do we fix it for that child when they can't read any of their text books? It takes more than instructional coaches it takes good teachers willing to present material at a variety of levels which takes much work and planning.

As a veteran teacher who has chosen to stay in the classroom, I see the problems kids have coming up without skills and know the challenges are many. James Comer's School Development
(www.med.yale.edu/comer)program offers many suggestions for building community and working together (parents, teachers,and community) to support student achievement. I see this as a positive approach and one that should be present in all schools not just a few. It offers solutions not obstacles.

Unfortunately, many of the initiatives which were helping have been cut back due to budget constraints. That means less support for those who need it the most. We need to support differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all students. We need supportive after school programs not just in academics but in the arts. There is much research that supports how the arts help to raise achievement for all students.

Fix, I think we are not too far away in our opinions regarding education but come to it from different perspectives.

Hood, I work in the hood and feel the pain of the students who attend New Haven Schools are not not receiving the support services they so desperately need. I also feel for the students who come each day to learn and have to deal with disruptive students who have another agenda in mind. But feeling bad is not enough, we need to push our students to do better and that is what i try to do. Many older students are so resistant that they are unable to accept the help they need as they have experienced so much failure. This is a definite challenge.

I have enjoyed this dialogue and feel it is an excellent way for us to experience our city's educational system from different perspectives.

Off to set up my classroom!

Posted by: cm | August 30, 2008 8:17 AM

Minor issues such as skipping school and being disrespectful is not minor...were are the BD of ED..THESE KIDS DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL. were is the descipline..what are the stats on these kids mostly hispanics... black..white..asian..mexican..when you get the stats let me know..they have spanish speaking teachers and new ones this year to teach..let them learn english..i had to learn it when my family came here from spain...now working on my citizen ship..